Mario Aguilar

Standing on a street corner and trying to flag down hundreds of already occupied yellow cabs is a rite of passage in New York. ZabKab wants to increase the odds you'll actually nab one by turning your phone into a homing beacon for free taxis nearby. Think of it as Uber for metered cabs.

When you need a cab, fire up the app, hit the cartoony "hail" button and your phone will beam your location to drivers within five blocks. (Taxi drivers have their own version of the app which looks for pings.) The app just launched in New York with 1000 cabbies reportedly already looking for passengers. ZabKab's developer says it has plans to roll the service out to other US cities and internationally. Whoa there guys! It's an interesting concept, and one that's sure to come in handy once in a very great while. But don't expect it to do you any good during the 5 o'clock shift change. [iTunes and Google Play via NBC New York]